Renée Fleming Brings A New Luster To Dumbarton Oaks

Review

Renée Fleming knows her audience, or in this case, the lack of one. Creating a sense of intimate occasion in the elegant music salon at Dumbarton Oaks, a Georgetown estate with a musical pedigree of its own, Fleming made her contribution to the Metropolitan Opera's MET Stars Live streaming concert series feel like a musical get-together.

The Emphatically Present “West Side Story”

Op-Ed

Through the years the original Broadway cast recording, abridged as it is to fit the time limitations of a single “long-playing” vinyl disk, has remained the pinnacle of its major recordings. The soundtrack of the hugely successful film recruited legions of fans plus a few detractors, Bernstein among them, who found it overblown.

The concessions we make for live opera: Tosca goes up at Northern Lights Music Festival

Review

With no performances scheduled in the United States scheduled for the next six months will there still be an audience? I think so, and I hope so. Cautious performances like those put on by Northern Lights are essential to keeping the spirit of opera alive in the United States. Let us hope for more innovation and live music making in the coming months.

A weekend pick reminiscent of the good old days: Grindr (and other concerns)

Editorial

The premiere viewing of Grindr (and other conce rns) will feature Act 1: An Annotated Sing Through, where you can catch "unforgettably naughty scenes and arias" from the opera's first act, along with some delightful commentary on topics like opera development and queer hook-up culture. It's a combination of live and pre-recorded material.

A fresh Sunday Matinee out of Florida Grand Opera

Editorial

FGO's production from 2018 stars Ana María Martínez as Florencia, the Brazilian soprano journeying home via the Amazon river; amid the storms and cholera outbreaks, Florencia and her fellow passengers travel into a murkey combination of fantasy and reality.

Aria guides: Vecchia zimarra

How-To

This aria from the final act of La bohème is two pages of what's stunning about a great bass. Colline, the philosopher among his band of bohemians, is doing his part after Mimì shows up at his apartment, looking for his friend Rodolfo and dying of tuberculosis. He decides to pawn his coat to help pay for a doctor, and because he's a philosopher, the decision is a weighty one

Aria guides: Voi, che sapete

How-To

"Voi che sapete" is about puberty, becoming girl-crazy, and involuntary bodily functions that are fun but also difficult to hide. It's one of those Mozart arias that seems simple, but demands a lot in the details. With your teacher and coach, this Aria Guide can help Cherubinos-to-be get started:

From trash to Valhalla: what's on deck this weekend

Editorial

These concerts are designed to conform to CDC health guidelines, including pre-performance health screenings, partitions separating singers and accompanying musicians, and the wearing of masks where possible.

An open letter to the Canadian Opera Company

Op-Ed

This silence is the loudest thing you've ever produced. It is absolutely deafening. It has left an entire generation of Canadian artists in confusion and tears. Culture is ultimately a set of actions, not beliefs. Your silence therefore is an act representative of your culture.

Watch a George Crumb music video & meet the artists: Chordless launches new project

Review

Chordless has created an intriguing piece of art with this Crumb video, and it'll be a neat experience to view it, and then have an immediate face-to-face (or screen-to-screen) with the folks who made it.